Mix of museum exhibits a blend of learning and fun

What to do on a cold, snowy weekend?

Museums provide a bounty of educational opportunities for kids, adults and families and offer a chance to get out of the house, have some fun and learn something, too.

Grab the kids or just take a day to yourself to check out the array of temporary and permanent exhibits at cultural institutions in the city and suburbs.

"Pizza: Any Way you Slice It!"Kohl Children's Museum, 2100 Patriot Blvd., Glenview, (847) 832-6600, kohlchildrensmuseum.orgHours: 9:30 a.m. to noon Monday; 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday through May 24Admission: $7.50; $6.50 for seniorsThe last time Kohl Children's Museum housed "Pizza: Any Way You Slice It!," the exhibit proved so popular that it inspired them to create a permanent exhibit around the same theme. Similar to the museum's "Potbelly Sandwich Works," the temporary exhibit lets children man a pizza parlor by taking orders, adding toppings, putting them in an oven that produces the scent of baking pies and delivering them to paying customers. The space also includes big pizza cushions for kids to relax on and a table where children and parents can work together to divide a pizza into smaller slices, which helps teach fractions."It's a buzz of activity," said museum president Sheridan Turner. "It's a terrific exhibit because it's very intuitive.""The Birth of Coffee"Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 2430 N. Cannon Drive, Chicago, (773) 755-5100, chias.orgHours: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; through May 9Admission: $9; $7 for students and seniors; $6 for kids ages 3 to 12; free for kids younger than 3Drinking your morning cup of coffee might not make you think about nature, but the Notebaert Nature Museum wants to change that. Through a series of photographs from the book "The Birth of Coffee" paired with narrative description, the exhibit shows how coffee is harvested around the world. It details the effect coffee harvesting has through descriptions of different methods such as organic farming and shade-grown coffee, which maintains other local plant life, improving the biodiversity and preserving habitats for migratory birds."We're a museum so we can't really be advocates for one thing or another, but we do let people know that certain processes of coffee are more ecologically sound than others," said Alvaro Ramos, vice president of exhibitions."My Chinatown"Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St., Chicago, (312) 642-4600, chicagohistory.orgHours: 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday; through Nov. 1Admission: $14; $12 for seniors and students; free for kids younger than 13The Chinese New Year is Sunday, Feb. 14, and you can learn about how it is celebrated along with other Chinese traditions at this multimedia exhibit. Videos feature personal accounts of people living in Chicago's Chinatown, sharing the history of the neighborhood and providing an insider's look into traditional food and medicine and the role of family and business associations in the neighborhood."Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East"Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 1155 E. 58th St., Chicago, (773) 702-9514, oi.uchicago.eduHours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday; through Aug. 31Admission: $7, $4 for kidsThe exhibit tells the story of James Henry Breasted, the founder of the Oriental Institute. Through photos, artifacts and letters, visitors can learn about the Egyptologist's travels to the Middle East in the wake of World War I, both through his own words and those of modern historians. By tracing his travels, you can also learn about issues still relevant today, such as the interactions between archaeology and politics and the importance of historic artifacts to natural identity."Freedom's Sisters"DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place, Chicago, (773) 947-0600, dusablemuseum.orgHours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday; through April 4Admission: $3, $2 for students and seniors, $1 for kids ages 6 to 12, free for kids younger than 6While the men behind the civil rights movement are well-known, women have been less prominent in the media and history books. The exhibit tells the story of 20 African-American women ranging from the 19th century to today who have fought for equality."Sharks in the Suburbs"Lake View Nature Center, 17W063 Hodges Road, Oakbrook Terrace, (630) 941-3558, obtpd.orgHours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; through April 3Admission: FreeGeared toward teaching preschoolers about some of the ocean's most impressive residents, the exhibit features life-size paintings of a great white shark and the jaws of its prehistoric predecessor megalodon. Along with getting a good idea of how big the aquatic predators are, kids can don goggles and play in the "shark tank," a wooden structure with shark puppets. A sandbox is filled with blue sand and rubber sharks, and there are also shark-related games, puzzles and books. Panels around the room feature some basic facts about sharks and children can take a look at shark teeth under a magnifying glass. Displays also feature shark eggs, jaws and the head of a hammerhead.False900600Children can learn fractions by making their own "pizzas" in the "Pizza: Any Way You Slice It" exhibit.Courtesy of the Kohl's Children's MuseumFalse